Tuesday, October 22, 2002

music with crackles, HMV style

Got Manoranjan (1974)/Anamika (1973)/Paraya Dhan (1971) (EMI/CDF 120174) out for a listen and found another example of HMV's typical use of bad master sources (read scratched disused vinyl) to create a CD {That they completely missed the point of the digital advantages offered by a CD is fairly obvious}: crackles and signs of feeble sound abound on Paraya Dhan (another example). I also have this on tape (a combo with Anamika) and don't remember hearing any such aural unpleasantries on that one. This implies a thickening of the plot and adds more fuel to the theory that posits a complete lack of musical acuity in the recording industry in general, and HMV in particular.